Blog

Photographer Grace Lau shares with us her response to John Thomson’s photographs of China and of Chinese women, taken in the 1860s. Grace Lau is a feminist Chinese photographer based in the UK. Her intention in her work is “raise awareness of stereotyping and prejudices (and) to encourage questions and debate.” She is interested in portraying the marginalised and the invisible. Her early work focused on the sub-culture of fetishism, ...Read More

What will you see at the John Thomson Exhibition in London? Here is a taster - check out this video trailer for some of the extra-ordinary photos taken by John Thomson on his travels across Old China and Siam in the 1860s... Dates for Your Diary If you'd like to come to the Through the Lens of John Thomson exhibition in London, here are the details: Exhibition: China and Siam ...Read More

Yang-May Ooi, acclaimed writer/ performer of Bound Feet Blues, has joined the the John Thomson Exhibition team multi-media blogger. Here she tells how her personal family history intersects with the epic storytelling in Thomson’s photography Yang-May writes: When Betty Yao invited me to join the John Thomson Exhibition team as their multi-media blogger, I jumped at the chance. It was - and is - a unique opportunity for me to ...Read More

Co-curator, Betty Yao, was smitten the moment she saw John Thomson's photographs of Old China and Siam at the Wellcome Library in London. She knew she just had to put together an exhibition of his work for the world to see. Here she talks to the John Thomson Exhibition video blogger about a fascination with China - both John Thomson's and her own. Come to the John Thomson Exhibition Don't ...Read More

John Thomson took early street photos of Ancient China and Old Siam back in the 1860s when cameras were the size of carry on hand luggage, and developing had to be done in situ. We are thrilled to announce the first London exhibition of these unique photos, opening in April 2018 John Thomson set off for Asia in 1862 as a young man and fell in love with the people ...Read More